Date: Mon, 04 Sep 1995 14:10:57 -0400
From: kherma@interaccess.com (Kurt Hermann)
I finished installing my Bell Aerodyne Turbo in my '93A (30K miles).
Below is a list of thoughts and comments about the installation and
the performance of the Turbo. If you not interested, delete the
message now... it might end up being long.
History:
=======
I ordered the Turbo from Bill at Dealer Alternative back in June.
(Plug for Bill...More to come) Bill informed me that the turbo would
take 6 to 8 weeks to get in. He was up front and honest about the
time period and didn't lead me on like other performance dealers I
have purchased from in the past. Bill's a great guy to do business.
Of course, the Turbo arrived while I was on vacation. I was initially
going to have a local shop do the install for me, since I live in
Chicago, and Bill's in New Jersey. Since I had 8 weeks to think about
it, I decided to do the install myself. A lot of the confidence
building was from reading the mail from this listserver about other
non-mechanics who did the installation themself. My friend, Roelof,
was very confident that we could do it, and twisted my arm alot.
Since we did all the mods to his Supra to take it up to 22psi, I
figured we could put my turbo in.
Installation:
============
I got back from a nice week in Orlando, Roelof and I set out to do the
installation. One of the biggest concerns I had was keeping
modifications that I have previously made to the car. I had installed
the HKS air intake, HKS exhaust, and HKS VPC. The exhaust didn't
present any problems, but the air intake and the VPC concerned me.
It seemed that most of the time was spent trying to decipher the
instructions. Bill was A LOT of help on this. He was at his shop on
Saturday, and was very helpful when ever we hit a rough spot. THANKS
BILL! Once we figured out all the instruction (I think we did), it
was a pretty straight forward install. We did make a couple of
variation from the instructions.
o We ended up installing the new Fuel pump in the cavity where
the fuel filter is located. It worked out nice.
o The kit came with a new air filter box. I had taken off the
original black box to install the HKS air intake. I didn't really
want to put the box back in, so we left the box off and put the green
mushroom on. I did have to make a special bracket to stabalize the
intercooler piping. It seems that the black air filter box also
stabalized the intercooler pipes to keep them from rubbing on the
belts when you hit a bump.
o As for the VPC, we didn't do anything. It seems to be
working fine. No special rigging required.
o We eneded up mounting the MSD onto the GAB upper strut brace
by making a mounting bracket. It seems to be working just fine, and
there doesn't seem to be any heat problems.
We tested the fuel pressure at differnet boost, and every thing seems
to be fine. Done. It ended up taking 12 hours on Saturday and 12
hours on Sunday.
Problems after the install:
==========================
o The biggest 'bug' I ran into was that we didn't tighten down
one of the hose clamps coming off the fuel filter. ( it was late, and
we missed one). Well, it blew off while I was at lunch the Tuesday
after the intall. I'm on the side of the road, in a suit, trying to
reconnect the fuel line. Wouldn't you know it, the one person who
pulled over to 'help' me was smoking a cigarette at the time. I was
under the car at the time and happened to smell smoke while I was
talking to him. I jumped out from under the car as fast as I could
and started yelling! No damage except to my white shirt.
o Another issue is that since the intercooler is in front of
the radiator, the pipes go under the radiator. i.e. lower clearance.
I have to watch what I run, or try to, run over.
o The fuel pump is loud enough to hear when the car is
idoling. Who cares... Just thougt I would let you know.
Other upgrades required because of the turbo:
============================================
o I eneded up calling Bill to order the Centerforce cluch
after a day of driving. I have 15x7" wheels with 205/50. When I
drive hard, the clutch will slip. The tires also slip through first
gear. Hmm... bigger tires too???
o Brakes... As soon as I replenish the fun fund, I'm going to
be back on the phone with Bill to order the brake upgrade. With the
turbo it doesn't take very long to get to high speed, and I'm using
the brake harder, causing them to fade.
Performance:
===========
I am VERY happy with the turbo. Yes, Roelof still blows me
off the road with his Twin Turbo 22psi Supra, but I havn't sunk 70K
into my car. As for other cars on the road, I have had a lot of
people try and pass me on the right at a light (Seems to be a Chicago
tradition). Cab drivers, I swear, pray on Miatas sitting at a light.
Not anymore! They still try and pass me at lights, and I just see a
cab driver in my rear view mirror with his mouth open. Same with the
BMW 325is who thought he could pass me on the right at a red light. I
also had a Cadilac Northstar do a nice brake touque, smoking his front
tires trying to beat me off the line. The best had to be the Porchee
968 (non-turbo) the other day on the express way. We had just gotten
through a clump of traffic and had a nice mile long opening with no
traffic. He downshifted and punched it at about 60. Of course, I did
the same and passed him. He caught up with me at 110 when I stopped
accelerating.
Finally Done:
============
Would I do it again? Of course! This is the best upgrade I
have put in the car yet, with the exception of driving school, but
that's an investment in the driver, not the car. Would I install it
again? YES! I know how the tubro work, and hopefully be able to fix
any problems that might creep up in the future. Would I purchase it
again from Dealer Alternative? YES! You might be able to find the
turbo cheaper somewhere else, but try calling them on a Saturday while
your installing it and get your questions answered. From threads on
the list server, it sould like there are problems just getting your
order shipped correctly.
If you are in the Chicago area and are thinking about getting
a turbo, let me know. We could get together and go for a ride. If
you want to install it yourself, let me know. You would be surprised
how easy it is to get me to blow a weekend helping someone for a case
of beer. (NO! I WILL NOT HELP ANYONE MOVE FOR A CASE OF BEER OR ANY
AMOUNT OF MONEY!)
Enjoying the Turbo...
Kurt Hermann
'93A
Chicago ILL